Car Show Gives Back
Hub City Days enjoyed beautiful weather and strong attendance again this year at its annual car show, street dance, and other family-friendly entertainments.
Main Street Marshfield, which organizes the event, was pleased with its success. “It was so great. We had as many cars and people as last year,” said Executive Director Kaelie Gomez. “It was just a fun, successful event.”
Gomez’s personal favorite was the new Family Zone, an area packed with family friendly attractions like bouncy houses, a balloon artist, face painting, and police and fire vehicles. She said families enjoyed having their own area and being able to use the library’s changing rooms.
Organizers were able to make use of the Wenzel Family Plaza, which opened this month and was the new site for Central Wisconsin’s Got Talent this year. Formerly, auditions took place on a stage by the car show on Central Avenue.
Having a quieter spot to enjoy the performances, separate from those who wanted to enjoy the car show, was a great asset, Gomez said.
The car show attracted about as many vehicles as last year, around 570, if not more, according to organizer Rodney Feltz.
“We ran out of room,” he said. “The last cars we were putting in the middle.”
Since promotion started later than usual, and there was no Humvee giveaway this year, Feltz said the turnout for the Car Show was “incredible.”
“It was a beautiful Saturday for Hub City Days this year and we were so glad to see the crowd on Central Avenue enjoying the car show,” said Mary Jo Wheeler-Schueller, Dealer Principle, Wheelers of Marshfield. “We were proud to sponsor the show this year and happy to see all of the exhibitors and visitors.”
No registration was required to bring a vehicle. In lieu of a fee, participants were asked to bring a food item for donation. Since it was the first year of collection, Feltz was surprised that enough food was collected to fill pickup truck. He plans to continue the food drive next year and anticipates an even better collection once more people know about it.
The car show was able to raise about $1,700 toward Cruise for a Cause, a breast cancer awareness campaign, with proceeds from the 50/50 raffle, Milwaukee Tool auction, and model car auction. Mid-Town Auto also donated $1,000 toward the same cause.
Despite not being advertised much, Feltz said the Milwaukee Tool raffle for veterans on Saturday afternoon had a great turnout of around 100 people. About $2,000 in tools and kits were given away thanks to sponsors. “I’ve never seen veterans so thankful. Everyone was so excited,” he said.
Although planning the car show is a lot of work, his family enjoys putting it on every year. He anticipates it will be a popular event for many years.
“Everything went perfect again, no bumps or issues,” Feltz said. “It was just a great show.”
